.gif)
HMS Ajax (1798)
Encyclopedia
HMS Ajax was an Ajax class
74-gun third rate ship of the line
of the Royal Navy
. She was built by John Randall & Co of Rotherhithe
and launched on the Thames on 3 March 1798. Ajax participated in the Egyptian operation of 1801, the Battle of Cape Finisterre
in 1805 and the Battle of Trafalgar
, before she was lost to a disastrous fire in 1807 during the Dardanelles Operation
.
James Whitshed had been in charge of the vessel during her later construction stages from January 1798, but she was eventually commissioned in June 1798 under Captain John Holloway, and a month later command passed to Captain John Pakenham, for Channel service. After a brief spell under Captain John Osborn in April 1799, the Ajax was placed in May 1799 under the command of Captain Alexander Cochrane
, who was to command her for two years. On 9 January 1800 she captured the French privateer Avantageux in the Channel.
In 1801, Cochrane and Ajax participated in the Egyptian operations. On 31 January Ajax anchored at Marmorice on the coast of Karamania.
On 1 March, some 70 warships, together with transports carrying 16,000 troops, anchored in Aboukir Bay
near Alexandria
. Bad weather delayed disembarkation by a week, but on the 8th, Cochrane directed a landing by 320 boats, in double line abreast, which brought the troops ashore. French shore batteries opposed the landing, but the British were able to drive them back and by the next day Sir Ralph Abercromby's
whole force was ashore. Ajax had two of her seamen killed in the landings.
The naval vessels provided a force of 1,000 seamen to fight alongside the army, with Sir Sidney Smith of the 74-gun HMS Tigre
in command. On 13 March, Ajax lost one man killed and two wounded in an action on shore; on 21 March she lost two killed and two wounded.
After the Battle of Alexandria
and the subsequent siege, Cochrane in Ajax, with the sixth rate HMS Bonne Citoyenne
, sloop HMS Cynthia
, the brig-sloops HMS Port Mahon and HMS Victorieuse, and three Turkish corvettes, were the first vessels to enter the harbour. Ajax returned to Plymouth from Egypt on 8 June 1802 after the signing of the Treaty of Amiens
.
sent Ajax, together with HMS Malta
and HMS Terrible
to reinforce Vice-Admiral
Sir Robert Calder's
squadron off Ferrol after a storm had reduced the squadron to only five ships of the line.
On 31 May 1805 Captain William Brown took command of Ajax. On 22 July, Calder's fleet of 15 sail of the line, two frigates, a cutter and a lugger was off Cape Finisterre
when it encountered Admiral Pierre-Charles Villeneuve
's combined Spanish-French fleet of 20 ships of the line, three large ships armed en flute
, five frigates and two brigs.
Calder sailed towards the French with his force. The battle
lasted for more than four hours as the fleets became confused in the failing light and thick patchy fog, which prevented either side from gaining a decisive victory. Still, the British were able to capture two Spanish ships, the 80-gun San Rafael and the 74-gun Firme. The action cost Ajax two men killed and 16 wounded.
After undergoing repairs in Plymouth, on 18 September, Ajax and Thunderer, the latter under Captain William Lechmere
, joined with Vice-Admiral Horatio Nelson
in and sailed from Plymouth
for Cadiz
on 18 September. Captains Brown and Lechmere were later called as witnesses at the court martial of Sir Robert Calder
for his failure to resume the battle the next day in the action in July. As a result, First Lieutenant
John Pilfold
commanded Ajax at the Battle of Trafalgar
. Ajax was seventh in line in Nelson’s column and she fired on both the French 74-gun Bucentaure
and the Spanish 136-gun Santissima Trinidad. During the battle Ajax assisted HMS Orion
in forcing the surrender of the French 74-gun Intrépide. Ajax lost two men killed and nine wounded during the battle.
A storm followed the battle and Ajax rescued seamen from ships in danger of sinking. Lieutenant Pilfold received the Trafalgar medal and a direct promotion to Post-captain
in December. Although he missed the battle, Brown was still the official captain and so too received the Trafalgar medal.Brown was then made Commissioner, first of Malta dockyards and then of Sheerness dockyards, before being promoted to Rear-Admiral. Next, he became C.-in-C. Channel Islands. He died of yellow fever in 1814 while C.-in-C. Jamaica. In 1847 the Admiralty
awarded the Naval General Service Medal with clasp "Trafalgar" to all surviving claimants from the battle.
On 1 February 1807 Ajax, under the command of Captain Henry Blackwood
, joined Admiral Sir John Duckworth's squadron at Malta
to participate in the Dardanelles Operation
.
During the operation an accidental fire destroyed Ajax. The fire began on the evening of 14 February while Ajax was anchored off Tenedos
. The fire began in the bread-room where the purser and his assistant had negligently left a light burning. As the fire burned out of control, the officers and crew were forced to take to the water. Although 380 people were rescued, 250 lost their lives that night, including many of the crewmen who had been at Trafalgar. Ajax burned through the night and then drifted on to the island of Tenedos where she blew up the following morning. A court martial cleared Captain Blackwood.
, Horsham
, United Kingdom
.
Ajax class ship of the line
The Ajax-class ships of the line were a class of two 74-gun third rates of the Royal Navy. They were grouped in with the large class of 74s, as they carried 24 pdrs on their upper gun decks, rather than the 18 pdrs of the middling and common class 74s...
74-gun third rate ship of the line
Ship of the line
A ship of the line was a type of naval warship constructed from the 17th through the mid-19th century to take part in the naval tactic known as the line of battle, in which two columns of opposing warships would manoeuvre to bring the greatest weight of broadside guns to bear...
of the Royal Navy
Royal Navy
The Royal Navy is the naval warfare service branch of the British Armed Forces. Founded in the 16th century, it is the oldest service branch and is known as the Senior Service...
. She was built by John Randall & Co of Rotherhithe
Rotherhithe
Rotherhithe is a residential district in inner southeast London, England and part of the London Borough of Southwark. It is located on a peninsula on the south bank of the Thames, facing Wapping and the Isle of Dogs on the north bank, and is a part of the Docklands area...
and launched on the Thames on 3 March 1798. Ajax participated in the Egyptian operation of 1801, the Battle of Cape Finisterre
Battle of Cape Finisterre (1805)
In the Battle of Cape Finisterre off Galicia, Spain, the British fleet under Admiral Robert Calder fought an indecisive naval battle against the Combined Franco-Spanish fleet which was returning from the West Indies...
in 1805 and the Battle of Trafalgar
Battle of Trafalgar
The Battle of Trafalgar was a sea battle fought between the British Royal Navy and the combined fleets of the French Navy and Spanish Navy, during the War of the Third Coalition of the Napoleonic Wars ....
, before she was lost to a disastrous fire in 1807 during the Dardanelles Operation
Dardanelles Operation
The Dardanelles Operation was the Royal Navy's unsuccessful attempt to impose British demands on the Ottoman Empire as part of the Anglo-Turkish War ....
.
Egypt
CaptainCaptain (Royal Navy)
Captain is a senior officer rank of the Royal Navy. It ranks above Commander and below Commodore and has a NATO ranking code of OF-5. The rank is equivalent to a Colonel in the British Army or Royal Marines and to a Group Captain in the Royal Air Force. The rank of Group Captain is based on the...
James Whitshed had been in charge of the vessel during her later construction stages from January 1798, but she was eventually commissioned in June 1798 under Captain John Holloway, and a month later command passed to Captain John Pakenham, for Channel service. After a brief spell under Captain John Osborn in April 1799, the Ajax was placed in May 1799 under the command of Captain Alexander Cochrane
Alexander Cochrane
Admiral Sir Alexander Forrester Inglis Cochrane GCB RN was a senior Royal Navy commander during the Napoleonic Wars.-Naval career:...
, who was to command her for two years. On 9 January 1800 she captured the French privateer Avantageux in the Channel.
In 1801, Cochrane and Ajax participated in the Egyptian operations. On 31 January Ajax anchored at Marmorice on the coast of Karamania.
On 1 March, some 70 warships, together with transports carrying 16,000 troops, anchored in Aboukir Bay
Abu Qir Bay
The Abū Qīr Bay is a spacious bay on the Mediterranean Sea in Egypt, lying between Abu Qir and the Rosetta mouth of the Nile. It contains a natural gas field, discovered in the 1970s.On August 1, 1798, Horatio Nelson fought the Battle of the Nile, often referred to as the "Battle of Aboukir Bay"...
near Alexandria
Alexandria
Alexandria is the second-largest city of Egypt, with a population of 4.1 million, extending about along the coast of the Mediterranean Sea in the north central part of the country; it is also the largest city lying directly on the Mediterranean coast. It is Egypt's largest seaport, serving...
. Bad weather delayed disembarkation by a week, but on the 8th, Cochrane directed a landing by 320 boats, in double line abreast, which brought the troops ashore. French shore batteries opposed the landing, but the British were able to drive them back and by the next day Sir Ralph Abercromby's
Ralph Abercromby
Sir Ralph Abercromby was a Scottish soldier and politician. He rose to the rank of lieutenant-general in the British Army, was noted for his services during the Napoleonic Wars, and served as Commander-in-Chief, Ireland.He twice served as MP for Clackmannanshire and Kinross-shire, and was...
whole force was ashore. Ajax had two of her seamen killed in the landings.
The naval vessels provided a force of 1,000 seamen to fight alongside the army, with Sir Sidney Smith of the 74-gun HMS Tigre
French ship Tigre (1793)
Tigre was a 74-gun ship of the line of the French Navy.Her first captain was Pierre Jean Van Stabel. When Van Stabel was promoted, she became the flagship of his 6-ship squadron. She notably fought in 1793 to rescue the Sémillante, along with the Jean Bart.Under Jacques Bedout, she took part in...
in command. On 13 March, Ajax lost one man killed and two wounded in an action on shore; on 21 March she lost two killed and two wounded.
After the Battle of Alexandria
Battle of Alexandria
The Battle of Alexandria or Battle of Canope, fought on March 21, 1801 between the French army under General Menou and the British expeditionary corps under Sir Ralph Abercrombie, took place near the ruins of Nicopolis, on the narrow spit of land between the sea and Lake Abukir, along which the...
and the subsequent siege, Cochrane in Ajax, with the sixth rate HMS Bonne Citoyenne
HMS Bonne Citoyenne (1796)
Bonne Citoyenne was a 20-gun corvette of the French Navy, which the Royal Navy captured and recommissioned as the sloop-of-war HMS Bonne Citoyenne. Her most famous action was her capture of the French frigate Furieuse on 6 July 1809 for which her crew would earn the Naval General Service Medal. Her...
, sloop HMS Cynthia
HMS Cynthia (1796)
HMS Cynthia was a ship sloop of unusual design, launched in 1796. She took part in one medal-worthy boat action and participated in captures of a number of merchant vessels, was present at two notable occasions, the surrender of the Dutch fleet in the Vlieter Incident and the capture of Alexandria,...
, the brig-sloops HMS Port Mahon and HMS Victorieuse, and three Turkish corvettes, were the first vessels to enter the harbour. Ajax returned to Plymouth from Egypt on 8 June 1802 after the signing of the Treaty of Amiens
Treaty of Amiens
The Treaty of Amiens temporarily ended hostilities between the French Republic and the United Kingdom during the French Revolutionary Wars. It was signed in the city of Amiens on 25 March 1802 , by Joseph Bonaparte and the Marquess Cornwallis as a "Definitive Treaty of Peace"...
.
1805
In April, Admiral Lord GardnerAlan Gardner, 1st Baron Gardner
Admiral Alan Gardner, 1st Baron Gardner was a British Royal Navy officer and peer of the realm. He became one of the Georgian era's most dashing frigate captains and, ultimately, a respected senior admiral.-Naval career:...
sent Ajax, together with HMS Malta
HMS Malta (1800)
HMS Malta was an 80-gun third rate ship of the line of the Royal Navy. She had previously served with the French Navy as the Tonnant-class Guillaume Tell, but was captured in the Mediterranean in 1800 by a British squadron enforcing the blockade of Malta...
and HMS Terrible
HMS Terrible (1785)
HMS Terrible was a 74-gun third rate ship of the line of the Royal Navy, launched on 28 March 1785 at Rotherhithe.She became a receiving ship in 1823, and was broken up in 1836....
to reinforce Vice-Admiral
Vice Admiral (Royal Navy)
Vice admiral is a flag officer rank of the British Royal Navy. It equates to the NATO rank code OF-8 and is immediately superior to rear admiral and is subordinate to the full admiral rank.The Royal Navy has had vice admirals since at least the 16th century...
Sir Robert Calder's
Robert Calder
Admiral Sir Robert Calder, 1st Baronet, KCB was a British naval officer who served in the Seven Years' War, the American Revolutionary War, the French Revolutionary Wars and the Napoleonic Wars.-Early life:...
squadron off Ferrol after a storm had reduced the squadron to only five ships of the line.
On 31 May 1805 Captain William Brown took command of Ajax. On 22 July, Calder's fleet of 15 sail of the line, two frigates, a cutter and a lugger was off Cape Finisterre
Cape Finisterre
right|thumb|300px|Position of Cape Finisterre on the [[Iberian Peninsula]]Cape Finisterre is a rock-bound peninsula on the west coast of Galicia, Spain....
when it encountered Admiral Pierre-Charles Villeneuve
Pierre-Charles Villeneuve
Pierre-Charles-Jean-Baptiste-Silvestre de Villeneuve was a French naval officer during the Napoleonic Wars. He was in command of the French and Spanish fleets defeated by Nelson at the Battle of Trafalgar....
's combined Spanish-French fleet of 20 ships of the line, three large ships armed en flute
En flûte
Arming a ship en flûte means removing some or all of the artillery. Since ships have a limited amount of cargo space, they may be armed en flûte to make room for other cargo, such as troops and ammunition...
, five frigates and two brigs.
Battle of Cape Finisterre (1805)
In the Battle of Cape Finisterre off Galicia, Spain, the British fleet under Admiral Robert Calder fought an indecisive naval battle against the Combined Franco-Spanish fleet which was returning from the West Indies...
lasted for more than four hours as the fleets became confused in the failing light and thick patchy fog, which prevented either side from gaining a decisive victory. Still, the British were able to capture two Spanish ships, the 80-gun San Rafael and the 74-gun Firme. The action cost Ajax two men killed and 16 wounded.
After undergoing repairs in Plymouth, on 18 September, Ajax and Thunderer, the latter under Captain William Lechmere
William Lechmere
William Lechmere was an officer of the Royal Navy who served during the American War of Independence and the French Revolutionary and Napoleonic Wars....
, joined with Vice-Admiral Horatio Nelson
Horatio Nelson, 1st Viscount Nelson
Horatio Nelson, 1st Viscount Nelson, 1st Duke of Bronté, KB was a flag officer famous for his service in the Royal Navy, particularly during the Napoleonic Wars. He was noted for his inspirational leadership and superb grasp of strategy and unconventional tactics, which resulted in a number of...
in and sailed from Plymouth
Plymouth
Plymouth is a city and unitary authority area on the coast of Devon, England, about south-west of London. It is built between the mouths of the rivers Plym to the east and Tamar to the west, where they join Plymouth Sound...
for Cadiz
Cádiz
Cadiz is a city and port in southwestern Spain. It is the capital of the homonymous province, one of eight which make up the autonomous community of Andalusia....
on 18 September. Captains Brown and Lechmere were later called as witnesses at the court martial of Sir Robert Calder
Robert Calder
Admiral Sir Robert Calder, 1st Baronet, KCB was a British naval officer who served in the Seven Years' War, the American Revolutionary War, the French Revolutionary Wars and the Napoleonic Wars.-Early life:...
for his failure to resume the battle the next day in the action in July. As a result, First Lieutenant
First Lieutenant
First lieutenant is a military rank and, in some forces, an appointment.The rank of lieutenant has different meanings in different military formations , but the majority of cases it is common for it to be sub-divided into a senior and junior rank...
John Pilfold
John Pilfold
Captain John Pilfold, RN, CB was an officer of the Royal Navy whose solid naval career during the French Revolutionary and Napoleonic Wars was most noted for his command of the ship of the line HMS Ajax in Nelson's division at the battle of Trafalgar whilst only a lieutenant.-Family...
commanded Ajax at the Battle of Trafalgar
Battle of Trafalgar
The Battle of Trafalgar was a sea battle fought between the British Royal Navy and the combined fleets of the French Navy and Spanish Navy, during the War of the Third Coalition of the Napoleonic Wars ....
. Ajax was seventh in line in Nelson’s column and she fired on both the French 74-gun Bucentaure
French ship Bucentaure (1804)
Bucentaure was a 80-gun ship of the line of the French Navy, lead ship of her class. She was the flagship of Vice-Admiral Latouche Tréville, who died on board on 18 August 1804....
and the Spanish 136-gun Santissima Trinidad. During the battle Ajax assisted HMS Orion
HMS Orion (1787)
HMS Orion was a 74-gun third rate ship of the line of the Royal Navy, launched at Deptford on 1 June 1787 to the design of the , by William Bately...
in forcing the surrender of the French 74-gun Intrépide. Ajax lost two men killed and nine wounded during the battle.
A storm followed the battle and Ajax rescued seamen from ships in danger of sinking. Lieutenant Pilfold received the Trafalgar medal and a direct promotion to Post-captain
Post-Captain
Post-captain is an obsolete alternative form of the rank of captain in the Royal Navy.The term served to distinguish those who were captains by rank from:...
in December. Although he missed the battle, Brown was still the official captain and so too received the Trafalgar medal.Brown was then made Commissioner, first of Malta dockyards and then of Sheerness dockyards, before being promoted to Rear-Admiral. Next, he became C.-in-C. Channel Islands. He died of yellow fever in 1814 while C.-in-C. Jamaica. In 1847 the Admiralty
Admiralty
The Admiralty was formerly the authority in the Kingdom of England, and later in the United Kingdom, responsible for the command of the Royal Navy...
awarded the Naval General Service Medal with clasp "Trafalgar" to all surviving claimants from the battle.
Loss of Ajax
Henry Blackwood
Vice-Admiral Sir Henry Blackwood, 1st Baronet, GCH, KCB , whose memorial is in the St. John's Church, Killyleagh, was a British sailor....
, joined Admiral Sir John Duckworth's squadron at Malta
Malta
Malta , officially known as the Republic of Malta , is a Southern European country consisting of an archipelago situated in the centre of the Mediterranean, south of Sicily, east of Tunisia and north of Libya, with Gibraltar to the west and Alexandria to the east.Malta covers just over in...
to participate in the Dardanelles Operation
Dardanelles Operation
The Dardanelles Operation was the Royal Navy's unsuccessful attempt to impose British demands on the Ottoman Empire as part of the Anglo-Turkish War ....
.
During the operation an accidental fire destroyed Ajax. The fire began on the evening of 14 February while Ajax was anchored off Tenedos
Tenedos
Tenedos or Bozcaada or Bozdja-Ada is a small island in the Aegean Sea, part of the Bozcaada district of Çanakkale province in Turkey. , Tenedos has a population of about 2,354. The main industries are tourism, wine production and fishing...
. The fire began in the bread-room where the purser and his assistant had negligently left a light burning. As the fire burned out of control, the officers and crew were forced to take to the water. Although 380 people were rescued, 250 lost their lives that night, including many of the crewmen who had been at Trafalgar. Ajax burned through the night and then drifted on to the island of Tenedos where she blew up the following morning. A court martial cleared Captain Blackwood.
Horsham Museum
A model of the 'Ajax' is displayed within the Shelley Gallery at Horsham MuseumHorsham Museum
Horsham Museum is a museum at Horsham, West Sussex, in South East England. It was founded in August 1893 by volunteers of the Free Christian Church and became part of Horsham District Council in 1974...
, Horsham
Horsham
Horsham is a market town with a population of 55,657 on the upper reaches of the River Arun in the centre of the Weald, West Sussex, in the historic County of Sussex, England. The town is south south-west of London, north-west of Brighton and north-east of the county town of Chichester...
, United Kingdom
United Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...
.
External links
- Phillips, Michael - Ships of the Old Navy - HMS Ajax (1798).http://www.ageofnelson.org/MichaelPhillips/info.php?ref=0523